WINE COUNTRY: Cemetery district holding open house at expansion site

Some landowners concerned about property values

Hoping to generate support for their project, Temecula Public
Cemetery District officials will be meeting with Wine Country
landowners during an "open house" Saturday morning on land the
district is eyeing for a new cemetery.

Some neighboring property owners who have said they plan to
attend are concerned about the project, saying land values
surrounding the cemetery will fall and the mellow vibe of the area
will be marred by the somber business of burials and funerals.

One of those property owners, Jaye Lucero, said she is spreading
the word about the open house to people who were not sent official
notices to help boost the turnout and show the district officials
that there is widespread opposition to the plan.

"We're not going to be happy neighbors," she said Monday
night.

District officials have countered the negativity by pointing to
research on cemeteries located in and around the Napa and Sonoma
wine regions, which, according to the district, complement the area
and offer a "beautiful buffer" between residents and busy special
event wineries.

"Our goal is to be a good, peaceful neighbor while providing an
affordable resting place for Temecula tax-paying residents," said
Cindi Beaudet, general manager of the Temecula Public Cemetery
District.

The agency is a special district funded by property tax
receipts. It overlaps most of Temecula and Southwest County's Wine
Country. The open house is scheduled for 10 to 11 a.m.

The 52-acre expansion site is at Buck Road and Camino del Vino
in Wine Country. The property was the site of a lemon grove in
recent years. The expansion cemetery is needed, district officials
say, because of a lack of space at its Old Town cemetery, a
relatively small property on C Street.

"This expansion is critical as our current grounds are near
capacity and we will not be able to accommodate the community’s
needs for the foreseeable future without this land," Beaudet
said.

County planning officials recommended staging the open house
because of pointed comments by some Wine Country landowners at a
recent Planning Commission meeting, which found the commission
postponing a decision on the district's request for a permit until
at least Dec. 1. The district needs a permit because the zoning for
the land does not specifically allow cemeteries.

The district purchased the 50 acres of land for the cemetery in
June of this year and a month later held a town hall meeting at the
Temecula Public Library on Pauba Road to introduce the project to
area residents.

District representatives said during that meeting and during the
recent Planning Commission meeting that half of the 50 acres ----
the eastern portion of the property ---- will be developed in the
first two phases of the project. They said access to the site will
be on Lemon Hills Drive, a dirt road off Benton Road that the
district plans to pave.

There are no set plans for the western half of the property and
Beaudet has said it could be sold or leased to a winery as land to
grow wine grapes.